Things exist; Nouns name them.

Things differ; Adjectives define or describe them.

Things act; Verbs express their actions.

    All Verbs denote action.

By action, we mean not only perceivable motion, but an inherent tendency to change, or resist action.  It matters not whether we speak of animals possessed of the power of locomotion; of vegetables, which send forth their branches, leaves, blossoms, and fruits; or of minerals, which retain their forms, positions, and properties.  The same principles are concerned, the same laws exist, and should be observed in all our attempts to understand their operations, or employ them in the promotion of human good.  Every thing acts according to the ability it possesses; from the small particle of sand, which occupies its place upon the sea shore, up thro the various gradation of being, to the tall archangel, who bows and worships before the throne of the uncreated Cause of all things and actions which exist thro out his vast dominions.

As all actions presuppose an actor, so every action must result on some object.  No effect can exist without an efficient cause to produce it; and no cause can exist without a corresponding effect resulting from it.  These mutual relations, helps, and dependencies, are manifest in all creation.  Philosophy, religion, the arts, and all science, serve only to develope these primary laws of nature, which unite and strengthen, combine and regulate, preserve and guide the whole.  From the Eternal I AM, the uncreated, self-existent, self-sustaining =Cause= of all things, down to the minutest particle of dust, evidences may be traced of the existence and influence of these laws, in themselves irresistible, exceptionless, and immutable.  Every thing has a place and a duty assigned it; and harmony, peace, and perfection are the results of a careful and judicious observance of the laws given for its regulation.  Any infringement of these laws will produce disorder, confusion, and distraction.

Man is made a little lower than the angels, possessed of a mind capable of reason, improvement, and happiness; an intellectual soul inhabiting a mortal body, the connecting link between earth and heaven—­the material and spiritual world.  As a physical being, he is subject, in common with other things, to the laws which regulate matter:  as an intellectual being, he is governed by the laws which regulate mind:  as possessed of both a body and mind, a code of moral laws demand his observance in all the social relations and duties of life.  Obedience to these laws is the certain source of health of body, and peace of mind.  An infringement of them will as certainly be attended with disease and suffering to the one, and sorrow and anguish to the other.